Ticket sales for Test match from today

Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Uppal, to host the match from March 2 to 6

The sale of tickets for the second Test match between India and Australia, to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Uppal, here from March 2 to 6, will commence from February 26 (Tuesday) at different Meeseva centres.

Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) secretary M. V. Sridhar said on Monday that 23,203 tickets will be up for sale. “There will also be 1,396 pre-sold tickets which include corporate box enclosures besides the 9,534 complimentaries for affiliated clubs, players and officials -- both former and current,” he said.

The highest denomination of tickets is Rs. 3,000 for each of the 80 tickets available in the special enclosure (south-east) near the players pavilion and the lowest is Rs. 100 each for the 18,245 chairs in the eastern and western Stands (ground and first floors); Rs. 750 each for 926 seats in south pavilion east (ground floor), Rs. 500 each for 135 seats on south pavilion east (first floor), Rs. 500 for south pavilion west for 1,205 seats, Rs. 300 for south pavilion east terrace (862 seats), Rs. 300 each for south pavilion west terrace (1,750 seats).

“There will be no season tickets (that is one ticket valid for all five days),” said HCA president G. Vinod. Conscious of the fact that the average fan in the east and the western stands of the stadium are left to the mercy of the sun, Mr. Vinod that there was a plan to put up tent covers providing some sort of cover. The HCA secretary said the total stadium capacity was 34,153 because of the ongoing works on the top tiers as was the case in the last Test match between India and New Zealand.

A separate briefing would also be held by the top police official about the do’s and don’ts for those coming to watch the match. “It’s a big challenge for us in the wake of Dilsukhnagar bomb blasts. We have been having a series of discussions with the security officials concerned. We are optimistic of conducting the Test successfully,” affirmed Mr. Sridhar. “We have taken care to ensure vendors don’t jack up prices of eatables and beverages as it is mandatory to display the marked prices of all the items,” the HCA official said.

CA takes stock of security measures

A Cricket Australia (CA) delegation, including the security manager, Franc Dimasi, visited the Rajiv Gandhi cricket stadium on Monday to check the security measures likely to be in place for the second Test match on March 2.

Highly placed HCA sources informed that the Aussie officials along with Ratnakar Shetty, GM, Operations, BCCI, and Ravi Sawani, BCCI head of Anti-Corruption Wing, held a series of meetings with local cricket officials and also top government officials to review the arrangements in the wake of the Dilsukhnagar blasts.

“They mainly suggested doubling up the police force, efficiency in crisis management in case of any exigency, fire safety measures and so on. We assured them that everything will be in place by the time the match starts,” a senior HCA official said.